Holocaust Memorial Day – 27 January

Between 1941 and 1945, six million Jews were murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust. The Nazis also murdered millions of others including Roma, Gypsy and Sinti people, people with disabilities, gay people, and many whose political views or religious beliefs threatened the Nazi regime.

Fighting antisemitism and hate at Kent 

Prejudice, discrimination and hatred based solely on difference is still pervasive in society today. This includes anti-Jewish attitudes, with reports of antisemitism increasing at Universities, and the recently released investigation into antisemitism within the National Union of Student (NUS).

Antisemitism is a form of racism and religious discrimination and we do not tolerate it at Kent.

We have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism and the Jewish Declaration of Antisemitism. This is an important statement of our solidarity with the Jewish community and our commitment to stamping out antisemitism at Kent.

Light the Darkness – 27 January, 16:00.

On 27 January at 16:00, you are invited remember pause and reflect by placing a battery-operated tea light in your office or window to honour Holocaust victims and show you stand against prejudice and hatred today. You can also wear purple in solidarity.

The battery-operated candles are available free from Mandela Reception from Friday 20 January. (For safety reasons, please do not use a candle with a real flame. Candles with flames are not allowed in University offices or many privately rented properties.)

There are other opportunities to commemorate throughout the year, including Antisemitism Awareness Week in March and Roma Holocaust Remembrance Day on 22 August.

Veronika Stoyanova, Lecturer in Political Sociology has teamed up with two local business owners Jack Mayhew of Bramley’s Bar and Sam Holden of The Monument Pub to create DEFY. This app maps out all independents in your area and helps boost their popularity by making them easier to find, offering discounts, and highlighting promotions.   

With the cost of living and energy crisis, the team have spent months worrying about tough conditions and the concern of rare and special places in Kent being shut down amid our current economic climate.  

“DEFY. came out of frustration with how little your chances are of weathering a recession if you’re a small independent business. So, we came up with an idea that’s very simple – an app that maps out all independents in your area and gives you access to discounts and offers from them, as well as alerting you to local events and campaigns. Businesses, for once, pay nothing to be on it. Users pay 99p a month but gain that back with just one visit to the local pub. A friend recently saved £8 in a week using 10% off in a local cafe and 20% off in a local pub.” Veronika Stoyanova 

As a non-profit organisation, the 99p subscription fee will initially go towards running costs, but as the team hopes to map out much of the country, they aim to get to a stage when they can offer interest-free loans, free legal advice, and cash-back rewards to businesses on the app.   

You can download DEFY now and further information can be found on the DEFY website. There’s already a wide range of independent Canterbury businesses on the app including The Fig Wine Bar, The Ballroom, Burgate Coffee House and Citi Terrace.  

Are you a volunteer or are you interested in volunteering? If so, help us shape the Kent Staff Volunteering Scheme by coming along to a workshop and sharing your ideas with us!

Canterbury   11.00-12.30    Senate Committee Room 1             26^th January 2023

Medway       10.30-12.00    Rochester Board Room R2-09 (TBC)      2^nd February 2023

Even if you can only pop in for 5 minutes please come along and give us your suggestions. If you can’t make it, share what you do and any ideas that you have at Kent Volunteers.

The Kent Staff Volunteering scheme gives each staff member 25 hours of paid leave for volunteering each year (pro-rata for part-time or fixed-term contracts). Volunteering is an excellent way to give something back to the community, enhance your CV and broaden your life skills, as well as the opportunity to meet new people and have fun.

To bring the scheme to life, we want your ideas to shape the scheme and help identify voluntary activities that benefit staff, the University and our communities.

We are delighted to announce that Professor Iain Wilkinson has been appointed the Director of Division for the study of Law, Society and Social Justice (LSSJ).

LSSJ is a large, diverse, multidisciplinary Division comprised of the Kent Law School (KLS) and the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research (SSPSSR), plus the Centre for Journalism, the Centre for Health Service Studies (CHSS), the Personal Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU), the Tizard Centre, the Centre for Child Protection and the Centre for Philanthropy. LSSJ provides some of the largest undergraduate and graduate teaching programmes in the University. It also has a strong research culture with Kent Law School currently ranked 2nd and Social Policy and Social Work (including the submissions from Sociology and Criminology) ranked 3rd in the UK for their research quality.

Professor Wilkinson is a Sociologist by training and his research and teaching interests concern problems of social suffering, the social history and politics of humanitarianism, sociological theory, and the sociology of health and health care. He is also currently involved in developing the Kent’s civic mission to promote food justice, tackle food insecurity and become the world’s first Right to Food University.

Recruitment for the Summer Vacation Research Competition 2023 has now begun. Watch the Q&A session to learn more.

Details of how to apply, including the application form, are available via the GRC KentNet – the closing date for applications is 10 February 2023.

The Summer Vacation Research Competition was developed for PDRAs, RAs and Research Associates wanting to gain additional research project and line management experience, and enthusiastic and motivated undergraduate students wishing to gain research experience through an established scheme where they are supported by University staff. For the first time, there are also two opportunities for Professional Services staff.

The competition, now in its sixth year, was initiated and is led by Dr Jennifer Leigh with a team including academic and professional services colleagues from across the University. Participating in the competition is an excellent way to boost your career and you can gain transferable skills by developing a research proposal, shortlisting, and interviewing students, and managing your own project, budget, and intern for 4-7 weeks with funding worth up to £2,500.

To contact the competition organisers, please email svrc@kent.ac.uk.

Good luck with your application!

It was lovely to welcome Rabbi Zalman Lewis to campus this week to conduct a pre-Hannukah celebration. Rabbi Lewis lit a Hannukah candle, shared some welcome doughnuts and brought people together at this important time of year in the Jewish calendar.

Rabbi Lewis praised the university for its support and encouragement of the annual celebration. He said, “an essential Hanukkah message is the rights of all to wear their religion and identity proudly and publicly”.

“It was wonderful to promote a meaningful message to so many students via our pre-Hannukah celebration. As a small community at Kent, events like this are so important to raise the profile of Jewish students at the University and to help young Jews to connect with each other at this special time of year. There were also lots of warm interactions with students and staff from many backgrounds which is exactly what festivals like this are all about.”

Chabad at South East Coast Universities was established in 2006 as part of the expansion of Chabad at University Campuses across the UK to be a presence for Jewish students and provide the security and confidence they need. Since then, many social events, meals, lunch n learns and more have taken place at the University of Kent and other universities based across the South East.

We are currently inviting applications for Director of the Institute of Health, Social Care and Wellbeing (iHSCW), on a fixed-term basis (3 years). To apply, fill in a short form and upload a CV and Cover Letter. 

Institute of Health, Social Care and Wellbeing (iHSCW) will be promoting multi and interdisciplinary research and teaching activities in the field of health, social care and wellbeing.

The University of Kent is establishing an Institute of Health, Social Care and Wellbeing (iHSCW) as a university-wide hub to promote multi- and interdisciplinary research and teaching activities in the field of health, social care and wellbeing. Building on existing strengths at Kent in health and social care, iHSCW will serve as a major regional catalyst for the highest-quality research, knowledge exchange, and education. It will lead a step change in the University’s activities in this field, regionally, nationally and globally, providing leadership and a scaled-up approach across the three pillars of the University’s activities, with a particular emphasis on building partnerships with external stakeholders and securing external funding to support research and innovation that can contribute significantly to addressing challenges in health, social care and wellbeing.

iHSCW will support the University’s civic mission by addressing significant regional needs and challenges in health and social care.

Working in close collaboration and partnership with external stakeholders across Kent and Medway, including the Integrated Health Boards (ICBs), Public Health departments, local authorities, health and social care providers and commissioners, business and industry, policy-makers, post-16 education providers, and the wider community, iHSCW will support the University’s civic mission by addressing significant regional needs in health and social care, particularly those in coastal towns and communities. Mobilising the University’s current resources and research expertise in the field, and building on those resources, iHSCW will focus in particular on the prevention of ill-health, both physical and mental, and on interventions and other strategies (including educational) designed to increase opportunities for lifelong health.

As a hub for research, innovation and education in health and social care, iHSCW will bring together researchers and educators across the University to work together on larger collaborative funding applications, as well as the development of intellectual property (IP) and spin-outs, involving those from across the arts, humanities, and medical, natural, and social sciences. The Institute will work with academic Divisions to ensure coherence and oversight to our education and training provision, ensuring that any future offer is responsive and aligned to external stakeholder needs.

The Institute will thus ensure that the University plays a major role in addressing health and social care challenges in the region and beyond, though research, innovation, and knowledge exchange, education, and civic engagement, generating significant income to support its activities.

To help address the additional financial pressure this year including inflation and the increased cost of living, we all need to do all we can to help reduce any non-essential spend – the Finance team have written to budget holders with updated budgets to reflect this and we should all keep this in mind when planning projects in the months ahead. We have also put in place an ‘exceptional approval to hire’ process so there is tighter control around staff recruitment for the time being.

Our Financial Statements and Annual Review for 21/22 have now been published, showing an underlying operating result of an £11.7m deficit which is in line with the budget we set for the year – reflecting an important step on the path to achieving financial sustainability. As with many universities, this year’s accounts include a very significant additional pensions charge of £54.6m which is why you see a larger overall deficit – this is the result of the 2020 valuation of the USS pension scheme and is an accounting adjustment only, with no adverse impact on Kent’s underlying performance or cash levels.

Reflected in the reported 21/22 performance was the return to more regular conditions as the impact of Covid receded, with increased face-to-face activity, improved occupancy and more use of student accommodation and catering facilities leading to increased income. Total income grew by 3.7% to £260.4m compared to 2020/21, although tuition fees were lower with increased competition for students. This return to full activity and the removal of temporary measures to control costs, as well as additional investment into areas of growth potential, meant that costs increased by 11%, to £274.5m. This excess of spend over income, along with planned payments to lenders resuming in-year, has meant that our cash balances have reduced in the year, to £30.5m (equivalent to 45 days of spend). Whilst this still exceeds the University’s financial sustainability target, work continues to improve the underlying operating performance and cash generation.

Looking ahead, 2022/23 has brought additional challenges with lower student retention than expected impacting on income levels, and inflation and energy costs are also placing pressure on budgets. We have put in place measures to ensure that we can we achieve the budgeted result – a managed deficit of £6.0m. This involves short-term cost control measures which delay the timing of new investments and restrict non-essential spending. We’re currently working through the details of these measures and will be providing full updates to budget holders early in the New Year. Alongside this, and with a focus on the longer-term financial sustainability, initiatives are being worked up aimed at increasing and diversifying income and ensuring our operations are delivered as efficiently as possible.